Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Women's groups worldwide must unite to help Lubna Hussein stop men from killing and lashing women and children in Sudan

Quote of the Day“There is a lot of violation of women rights in Sudan, and we consider this as a violation of human rights and it is also a violation of women's security in Sudan. These violations have been there for so long but now it has taken on a new dimension.” - Nahid Jabrallah

(Khartoum) – Following Lubna Hussein's court appearance on Tuesday, Sudanese women's activists are calling on the government to focus on issues affecting Sudanese women rather than concentrating on their dress-codes.

At a demonstration in front of the Khartoum North court where Hussein’s case was being heard, the SPLM Chairperson for the northern sector, Ikram Awad, told Sudan Radio Service that the government was losing sight of its primary responsibilities.

[Ikram Awad]: “Instead of focusing on women’s clothes, let the government focus on the problems facing women. We women have a lot of problems. We urged the government to solve all our problems and not the problems of how we dress. Because today, Lubna or anyone can be arrested for dressing in tight clothes but at the same time there are other women who are homeless, living under bridges and even walking naked and nobody is arresting them - because they are poor! Why is the government focusing on the way some women dress? We women in the SPLM say that the issue of clothing is up to the individual.”

Nahid Jabrallah, a Communist party activist, complained of the restrictions on women which prevent them from exercising their rights in Sudan.

[Nahid Jabrallah]: “There is a lot of violation of women rights in Sudan, and we consider this as a violation of human rights and it is also a violation of women's security in Sudan. These violations have been there for so long but now it has taken on a new dimension.”

Lubna Ahmed Hussein’s case has attracted international attention.

Right on, Nahid Jabrallah! For starters, what about all the women recently killed by men in Jonglei State, South Sudan? Note this excerpt of a report filed here at Sudan Watch yesterday:

The Commissioner of Akobo County, Goi Jooyul Yol, told Miraya FM that the recent death toll from the clash in Akobo, Jonglei State, southern Sudan has risen to 185 including twelve soldiers.

Jooyul said that bodies are being retrieved from the river for burial, adding that most of the dead are womenand children. Further details here below.

Repeat. The clashes claimed the lives of more than 180 people, mostly women and children.

Here's hoping that women of the world unite in support of Team Lubna to help stop men from lashing and killing women and children in Sudan (and Chad, and Uganda, and DR Congo, and ...)

Click on label 'Sudan women 'lashed for trousers' (here below) to see related reports and how one can support Ms Hussein's campaign on Facebook to help change archaic laws in Sudan that discriminate against females.

Photo: Lubna Hussein (C), a former journalist and U.N. press officer, gestures outside the court after her trial in Sudan's capital Khartoum August 4, 2009. Dozens of protesters rallied outside a Khartoum court on Tuesday in support of Hussein, who faces 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public, in a case that has become a public test of Sudan's indecency laws. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallh (SUDAN CRIME LAW SOCIETY IMAGES OF THE DAY) (Hat tip: Reuters' correspondent Andrew Heavens in Khartoum: "Re widespread Sudan trouser woman coverage - I didn't see police beating anyone - tear-gassing, shoving yes, beating no". - Twitter/AndrewHeavens 5/8/09)

“Violence will bring no victory. For the sake of the Darfur civilians, all parties to the conflict have to stop resorting to violence. This is the absolute priority.” - Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, 05 June 2009

"APPREHENSION" by Rob Rooker. Painted on a wall in Maridi, Sudan. The image is of a young Nuer boy looking up among a crowd of people. Click on image for more details. Cards & prints of Rob's paintings can be purchased online at Imagekind.com